Harness



(No Model.)

R. P. SPENCER.

HARNESS.

No. 573,306. Patented Dec. 15, 1896 as 1M1. am

mus PETERS 00., Pficmuvmi, wumwaron n c which will enable others skilledin the art to UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

RIPLEY F. SPENCER, OF ASHLAND, VVISOONSIN.

HARNESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 573,306, dated December15, 1896.

Application filed March 18 1 8 9 6.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RIPLEY F. SPENCER, of Ashland, in the county ofAshland and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Harness; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the invention,

which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

My improvements relate to that class of harness which are designedparticularly for use with light vehicles, such as gigs and sulkies, andcomprising, in connection with a saddle and girth; draft and holdbackstraps attached to the saddle and extending rearwardly and forwardlytherefrom in place of the usual breast-collar, traces, and breeching.

The main objects of my invention are to encumber the animal with aslittle weight and as few straps aspossible, and thus allow perfectfreedom of movement, to insure the proper support of the vehicle-shaftsand thus prevent accidents, and to admit of the use of. any suitableharness-saddle not specially made for the purpose, whereby an old saddlethat has been broken to the animal may be utilized for the purpose.

It consists of certain novel features in the construction andarrangement of component parts of the harness, as hereinafterparticularly described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings like letters designate the same parts inthe several fig ures.

Figure 1 is a general perspective View of a harness embodying myimprovements as applied in practice. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, on anenlarged scale, of a harness-saddle to which my improvements areapplied; and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same.

A designates an ordinary harness-saddle of the kind commonly employed inlight harness. It is provided with the belly-band or girth B and withterrets g g and check-hook h in the usual way.

a, is a safety-strap constituting a part of my improvements. It extendsover the saddle and is secured thereto by the terrets g g, which SerialNo. 583,801. (No model.)

are first removed from the saddle and then screwed into it through holesmade therefor in said strap.

6! cl are metal pieces riveted or otherwise securely attached to thesafety-strap a on each side of the saddle below the terrets g g. Theyare formed at the sides with loops or openings for the attachment of thedraft and holdback straps, as hereinafter explained, and with one ormore loops or openings for the passage of the saddle-bearers when thesaddle is provided with these appendages.

The safety-strap a is preferably extended in width where the metalpieces (Z cl are attached thereto, so as to form a suitable base orhearing therefor, as shown in Fig. 3.

b b are straps, usually called by harnessmakers saddle-bearers, withwhich harness-saddles of this class are usually provided. They aresecured at their upper ends to the saddle usually by inserting themthrough transverse slits in the backs of the saddlepads and passing theterrets through them. I11 connection with my improvements thesesaddle-bearers are passed outwardly through openings in the safety-strapa and through openings or loops in the upper parts of the metal pieces dcl, thence inwardly through loops or openings in the lower parts of saidmetal pieces, so that their lower ends lie over and parallel with thecorresponding ends of the safety-strap a, as shown in Fig. 2.

O C are shaft loops or tugs adjustaloly secured by buckles c c to thelower ends of both the safety-strap a and the saddle-bearers b b.

For the purpose of lightness and to prevent corrosion the metal pieces61 cl may be made of aluminium. The upper loop or opening therein may beomitted and the metal pieces themselves may be altogether dispensedwith, the draft and holdback straps being attached to the safetystrap byany other suitable means. I prefer, however, to use the metal pieces forthis purpose, as they afford a strong fastening and a neat andattractive finish.

c and fare holdback and draft straps, respectively, such as are employedin this style of speeding-harness in place of the ordinary breastcollar,traces, breeching, and holdbacks. They are secured in the side loops oropenings of the metal pieces (1 cl and extend forwardly and rearwardlytherefrom for attaolunent to the front and rear ends of thevehicle-shafts. The holdback'straps c are preferably provided in theusual manner with sockets, as shown in Fig. 1, to pass over the frontends of the shafts, and the draft-straps f may be fastened at their rearends to awhiffletree or directly to the shafts 0r cross-bar.

lly means of the safety-strap a I am enabled to readily apply myimprovements to anysuitable saddle not specially constructed for thepurpose. This is not only a matter of economy, butenables me to utilizesaddles which have been used, broken, or fitted and are thereforegenerally preferred to new saddles, which are stiff and uncomfortable.It also insures against accidents by holding the vehicle-shafts up inplace in case the ordinary saddle or parts thereof break, which is veryliable to occur, particularly with old harness, preferably employed forspeeding purposes on account of its flexibility and ease.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to exact details ofconstruction herein shown and described, as they maybe modified withinthe intended scope of my invention.

I claim 1. In harness the combination with a saddle, of a safety-strapextending over and secured to the saddle, saddle-bearers attached to thesaddle and passing outwardly through openings in said safety-strap,shaft tugs or loops attached to said safety-strap and saddle-bearers,and draft and holdback straps-attached to said safety-strap above theshafttugs, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In harness the combination with a saddle, of a safety-strap extendingover and secured to said saddle, metal pieces attached to saidsafety-straps and formed with loops or openings, saddle-bearers attachedat their up per ends to the saddle and passing through said safety-strapand openings or loops in said metal pieces, shaft tugs or loops attachedto the ends of said safety-strap and saddle-bearers and draft andholdback straps attached to the-side loops of said metal pieces,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that Iclaim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature inpresence of two witnesses.

RIPLEY F. SPENCER.

Witnesses:

B. E. WEBB, J'. WHIT POTTER.

